6. Time and Memory
Natasha pulled away from the stranger's embrace. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Hundred struck a match, and by the small light she was able to see the black hair, the mocking smile, the pale column of his neck. "Loki?" she added. "Is it really you or am I starting to lose touch with reality."
"Perhaps a touch of both." Loki spread his arms and dimpled at her.
Despite his appearances in her sink, she still doubted he truly was a demigod. Still, Natasha had been through sex with a cyborg and had her name stolen; by that point she was ready to accept anything. "Why are you here of all godforsaken places?"
"Godforsaken no longer, Natasha. I have just arrived with my brother Thor on a quest to save his lady-love, the Warrior Sif. Have you seen her?"
"Woah." Hundred held up both palms. "This is like some serious medieval stuff. You're on a quest? With your brother? Are you both going to want a bath and attendants?"
Loki's brow puckered as he regarded the boy. "Bath? Attendants? I suppose so, but it is of no importance. First I want to find the lady, and next Natasha and I will become acquainted in the flesh – at last."
"How about that!" Hundred inserted his elbow between two of Natasha's ribs. "You're famous already. Well-deserved, I might add – I've never seen a better lover than you are."
Natasha couldn't help a snort of amusement as Loki's nostrils extended with fury. "You are her lover?" he demanded of the boy.
"We just work together. Although you can watch me bed her, if that's your kink - believe me, we can work it out. Really I'm more of a cock guy, but …" Hundred stopped talking as Loki's hand snapped out around his throat.
"Stop it at once!" Natasha punched Loki's arm, and reluctantly he released the kid. "Hundred, I need to talk to him alone for a bit. Why don't you go and take your bath and I'll join you as soon as I can."
Her amusement fled as Loki's eyes widened and he back her against the wall. "You are taking a bath with him?" he demanded. "I refuse! You cannot – now I am here you will be mine, and we shall…"
"Hey!" Natasha pointed her finger at his face, slicking the air with little jabs as she spoke. "Do not pull that jealousy crap on me. We hardly know each other, first of all, and no one tells me what to do. No one. Unless they've bought me, of course," she added with a burst of honesty.
"Bought you…" Loki's brows drew together again, and he looked around. "Is this a brothel?"
"Yeah, sort of." Natasha realized she really had no word to describe the castle. "It's sort of a bathhouse, but anything goes in here, pretty much. I guess I never really thought about it much before." She favored him with an up-and-down glance. "You going to tell me you're a virgin yourself?"
"What? Well, I … perhaps…" His voice tailed off.
She snorted. "Thought not. Don't presume to hand out rules you don't follow, jackass."
In one movement Loki went on one knee, groped for her hand, and held it to his cheek. "I beg your forgiveness. It is simple to watch someone from far away, is it not? and dream of being beside them, but reality raises unforeseen problems. Concepts previously unconsidered. You were a bright possibility to me, Natasha, for centuries. And now you stand before me, and I am acting like a fool – struck down, perhaps, by your beauty."
She laughed, slapped his cheek lightly, and withdrew her hand. "C'mon, stand up. We'll be okay. How did you get into my water jug, by the way?"
He sprang to his feet, and a mischievous gleam entered his eyes. "I thought you were the one who got into my river when I went swimming."
With a slight shock Natasha realized he was incredibly handsome, so good-looking he might truly be named a god. "You said you arrived here with your brother. Where is he?"
The mischief turned to disdain. "Believe it or not, as soon as we arrived he could not resist a table filled with delicacies. He is filling his stomach as we…"
Natasha didn't wait to hear the rest. A shout of despair tore out of her throat, and she bolted to the dark corridor on the left. Her old robe flapped around her legs as she ran, sobs threatening to drown her. Not another one!
She stopped at the entrance of the room. The table stood there, filled – as it always was – with delicious meats, bread, bowls of stew and mounds of potatoes. One chair was occupied, just as she knew it would be, by a dark, squat shape. "God damn it!" she shouted. "Fuck me!"
Loki arrived and wrapped an arm around her waist to stop his progress; they both were propelled forward by his impetus. "What has happened?" He pointed to the thing in the chair.
"It's the food. It turns anyone who eats it into one of the Spiders."
Shaking his head, Loki started to chant something under his breath. "No," he said. "Not Thor – no no no no no." A wild look came into his eyes, and he raised his arms, flinging bolts of green light at the black shape in the chair. "Come back! You fool - Brother!"
Natasha forgot her astonishment at the sight of electricity flowing from his hands in the face of Loki's sadness, and she wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Sucks, right? I think it happened to someone I knew as well, but I've forgotten."
He turned, mouth agape with astonishment. "Forgotten?"
"Yes. Remember how you helped me remember my name? I've forgotten everything – except you. I remembered you, and you gave me back my name." She released him and cautiously slid to the side wall. "We have to let your brother join the other Spiders, or he will die. He'll eat until he explodes."
They both regarded the black shape in the chair. Two spindly legs pushed food into a red hole of a mouth; already its belly was bulging.
"How will I get him back? My magic will not work on him – what sorcery is this?"
"I don't know, I'm sorry." Natasha ran her fingers over the wall until she found the handle she was looking for; quickly she turned it and a small trapdoor opened. The spider that once had been Thor shot out of its seat, clicked across the floor, and disappeared through the dark hole to where the other spinners lived.
"No." Loki shook his head. "I must – things are getting worse, not better. We came to rescue the Lady Sif and find you, and instead Thor is gone. In faith, everything I touch seems to wither under my hands."
"Don't despair just yet." Natasha felt something like sympathy pour through her, searing her veins with its acid. "Look, you need to get a job here. Okay? You have to keep bugging them until they offer you a job. They'll make you sign a contract, but you have to remember your name or you'll be lost too. Once you are hired, we can work together to free your brother and my – whoever it was I lost. I don't remember, but I'm going to get them back anyway."
"You lost someone as well?" Loki tilted his chin and looked down at her. "A lover, perhaps?"
"I have no idea. It could be Kronsteig's second cousin for all I know."
"Kronsteig – who is that?" The question was pointed, sharp and intense.
"One of the scientists who lives here. He enjoys torture, both giving and receiving it. When you get a job in the castle, stay away from him."
A grim smile spread over his features. "I would truly enjoy watching his pathetic efforts to subdue me. Very well, I shall get this job, rescue Thor, and aid you in your own quest."
Natasha felt a ray of something she had nearly forsaken. Just perhaps she could call it hope. "Really? You'll help me?"
"Naturally."
She thought quickly. "Would you like to see the spiders? They run the baths and generate energy for the castle."
The smile grew grimmer. "If I must."
"Let's have a look at what we're up against." Natasha's threadbare slippers slapped against the old flagstones underfoot in the cellars, and she tugged her robe closer, wondering how Hundred was making out in the bath. "It's quite disturbing," she warned.
Castle von Doom had once been a medieval fortress heated by woodsmoke; its fountains and baths were powered by run-off from the nearby lake. According to Thirteen, Doom wanted more power to source weapons and a revolution he was funding, but the loss of several skirmishes used up his fortune. As a result the castle became a shabby bathhouse that truly was, as Loki surmised, a brothel. All income apparently went into the estate, for none of the workers ever received wages.
When Loki and Natasha entered the room where the spiders spun and worked, the scuttling black shapes were clustered in a corner of the room, crawling over each other in order to get to a cake of sugar swinging from the ceiling. Their motions started a long series of gears to grind against each other, thus sending heat to the baths and fuel to the castle. As well, the spinners fetched and spun, a never-ending source of power. The arachnids were far larger than those found in the forests beyond the lake; the legs were nearly as thick as a man's wrist. Mandibles clicked as the creatures jostled for the best position and bumped mindlessly against each other.
The sight always filled Natasha with despair. She knew one of the beasts had another name and was not a spider at all; once he had been a friend and worked at her side. However, she could no longer remember who he was. And this stranger, newly arrived – this tall being called Loki was in the same position – his brother had also become one of the skittering pile. They stood in silence, side by side, watching the pile squirm. After several minutes, Loki made a sound of disgust and strode back to the elevator.
Natasha thought of the bath she and Hundred were supposed to share. It was in the Cityscape room, designed to look as though the bathers were on the top of a huge building under the stars. There would be soft soap, and Hundred had stolen a bottle of wine. He also hinted at scandalous gossip and promised to give her a foot massage.
With a soft Humph she abandoned those plans. "Let's get you that job," she said.