Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Marvel or any quotes you might recognise.

NYCTOPHILIA

Chapter 2

"Destruction is his game,

A beautiful liar

Love for him is pain."

-30 Seconds from Mars: End of all days-

Loki stared down at the book in his lap, his finger rubbing gently over his lips. Ever since the guards interrupted his peace he could not bring himself to concentrate on the words before him. Questions were running wild in his mind and he could no longer deny that his curiosity was getting the better of him.

How long has it now been that he was locked away in this ghastly cell? Was it a week, a month, no closer to a year? Only his mother – no, Frigga – ever came to visit on occasion and break the vile everlasting silence that threatened to drive him mad. But now it seemed that soon he would be presented with a cell mate and not just any cell mate, but someone that was also proficient in the arts of powerful magic. For Odin designed these cells with one purpose in mind, to subdue any form of seidr and prevent escape.

There were few in the nine realms that could rival in his knowledge and use of magic. He had surpassed even the greatest masters over the years. Come to think of it, he had never met anyone with his level of power before. A sly grin formed on his lips and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

The sound of the entrance door to his part of the dungeons opening pulled him out of his delightful mischievous thoughts and he quickly pulled the book in his lap to his eye level and comfortably slipped into his trademark expression of indifference.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as two guards dragged a figure in a filthy brown cloak through the door. From the small frame and long locks of dark hair hanging out from under the hood he could define that it was a woman. With his luck probably as ugly as a rabid biglesnipe. By the Norns, will his suffering never end? To stare at such a revolting sight each day for the rest of his days, which could be another four thousand years, was enough to make the bile rise in his throat. He closed his eyes and silently cursed Odin under his breath.

When he opened his eyes again the guards unceremoniously dropped their prisoner on the floor of the cell next to his. They turned and left just as quickly as they came, probably couldn't stand to be in the same room as such a vile creature any longer. His eyes racked over the thing – well, what else were he supposed to call it – as it slowly pushed itself from the floor with its back to him.

Pale hands slowly reached up and pushed the hood of the cloak back. A tangled mess of dark brown hair tumbled down its back – at least it had hair – and it slowly inspected the cell. He waited with baited breath for it to turn in his direction, might as well face it now and get over the initial shock. Luckily he did not eat that much of his evening meal.

A pair of the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen met his own emerald eyes. His eyes travelled over her flawless pale face and lingered awhile longer on her full pink lips. He slowly exhaled the breath he was holding and managed to hide his true feelings of complete astonishment. Not many women possessed the ability to elevate his heart beat in such a way.

He slowly closed the book in his hands and placed it on the table beside him, pushed himself out of his chair and closed the distance between them. He was standing so close to the barrier between them that he could hear and feel it pulse with energy. Her gaze never wavered from his as he placed his hands behind his back.

"So, what unfortunate crime did you commit against Asgard to end up in here? Not dress according to the high standards of the Allfather?" He asked with a sly grin.

Her eyes fell to the brown cloak she was clutching in her hands. She lifted her hand and with a quick wave the cloak began to glow a light green. When the light disappeared she was dressed in tight fitting black riding trousers and a coat that accentuated her small waist and spread out around her legs in a dress like manner. Her hair fell in gentle curls down her shoulders to her waist. She gazed up at him again and took a step closer to the barrier. She was almost a whole head shorter than him and it confirmed his suspicion that she was not Aesir, definitely not a light elf, maybe a Vanir?

"Is this more to your liking, my prince?" She said in a soft sweet voice. Her eyes travelled slowly over his body as she bit down on her bottom lip. She was openly trying to seduce him and when their eyes met it was as if he could perceive the unspoken promise of indescribable pleasure in hers. This beautiful creature standing before him was a dangerous little thing and the game she wanted to play even more dangerous. He was the master player and to see her fail would surely be most entertaining.

He smiled seductively down at her.

"Surely you must have heard that I don't hold the title of a prince of Asgard anymore. And that brings me back to my original question; whatever crime did you commit, so that I have the pleasure of the company of such a divine beauty?"

A shy smile formed on her lips as she played with a lock of her hair. She was playing the role of seductress extremely well and he could almost believe that this was real and not an act. Did she not know it was impossible to trick the trickster?

"I killed one of Odin's guards and injured several. O, and I told him how I was going to watch Asgard burn."

For the second time Loki had to fight hard to keep his composure and not show his surprise.

He chuckled softly and placed his right hand against the pillar beside the barrier, leaning as close to her as he could without being electrocuted on the spot.

"That was not a very wise thing to do, but I would have loved to see Odin's face when you told him that. Do pray tell why Asgard is going to burn?"

She smiled sweetly back at him and leaned with her shoulder against the same pillar. Dear Valhalla, she was exquisite and possibly stark raving mad.

"The dark elves are searching for the Aether and before you interrupt me, they were not destroyed by Bor, neither the Aether, he hid it. The nearing convergence awakened the dark elves. Malekith wants to use the Aether to bring eternal darkness to all the realms. Thor's mortal lover, Jane Foster, will discover it by accident and in an attempt to save her Thor will bring her back to Asgard and lead the dark elves here. Malekith will sneek the Kursed into the dungeons and he will free the prisoners and while all the guards and Asgard's mightiest warriors are distracted, Malekith will attack Asgard."

"How do you know this?"

"I have seen it."

"You possess the powers of a seer?"

She laughed and shook her head from side to side before she answered. Even her laugh sounded like the most beautiful melody, but the things she claimed were impossible. The history of all the great battles of Asgard was drilled into him and Thor when they were children and he doubt that they could be wrong.

"No, I'm not a seer."

"Then how do you possibly expect Odin or anyone to believe you? To claim that his father was a liar…"

"Odin is a liar." She interrupted him as she pushed herself away from the pillar. "Like father, like son."

The hatred was dripping like honey from her voice and the warm glow in her eyes was replaced by an ice cold stare that the barren lands of Jotunheim would have trouble challenging. How he loved it when the right words and a little push revealed everything of his opponent. So, Odin was the proverbial thorn in her side. Could it be that he finally found someone that despised the Allfather just as much as him, an ally?

"You don't believe me. Maybe you need prove? But what will it take for you to believe that I know things not even you can comprehend?" She whispered and then her eyes lit up and she leaned so close to the barrier that he was certain it would burn her. "O, I know what will suffice."

She smiled and the look in her eyes told him that he was not going to like the words that would follow.

"If you fail. If the tessaract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain! That was the exact words, my prince?"

His resolve crumbled and he took a step back, his perfect mask of indifference slipped from his face and he was unable to hide his churning emotions any longer. No. No. How could she possibly know those precise cursed words of that dreadful promise that still haunted his dreams, which jerked him awake, screaming, his heart racing, drenched in sweat?

He swallowed hard and narrowed his eyes, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. Anger filled his body and his fists glowed light green as his power fought to express his distress. Did Thanos finally found him? Was she the one send to torture him further, remind him of his horrible time spend with the Mad Titan?

"Did he send you here? Are you to continue where he left of? Inflict insufferable pain on me? Undo my mind and fill it with more horrors so that I would rather claw out my eyes than relive it over and over?" He hissed through clenched teeth as he took a step closer to the barrier, leaning in to glare down at her.

"Is this your bargain, you mewling quim!"

She threw her head back and laughed. The sound filling every space around them and he wanted to grab her by the neck and strangle her until he saw the light leave her eyes and her body go limp in his grip. How he loathed her!

She placed a hand on her chest in an attempt to bring herself under control and looked back at him.

"I must apologize for my outburst, but that was just so hilarious. Do you really think me a puppet of such a crazed power greedy being that thinks he can court Death? He might have pulled your strings, but he will never have the pleasure of using me as a pawn in his plot of demise and destruction. It was not my intention to offend you, my prince, but did you really think that after you handed the tessaract over he would let you rule Midgard and just go on his merry way?"

She leaned closer to him, a frown forming between her delicate brows and whispered softly.

"It burns you to have come so close."

He slammed his fist into the pillar and the blow reverberated through the cells, small sparks jumping from the barrier between them.

"I was born to be a king! To rule! How dare you imply to know me or the motives behind my actions when you too are locked away for the rest of eternity in Asgard's pits? You are but mere words. You are nothing!" He choked out in anger, his eyes blazing down at her.

A smile formed on her lips and she lifted her hands and clapped. He was taken aback by her bizarre reaction and a frown formed between his brows as he stared back at her in astonishment.

"Now that was exactly what I came here searching for, that undeniable raw passion and ambition to take which truly belongs to you, no matter the consequence. Hold onto all of that rage and hate that burns through your veins, my prince, for through it you will gain your deepest desires."

"What?"

"All will soon be revealed." She said and placed her hand against the barrier between them he watched in surprise as it did not burn her with its energy.

His eyes snapped back to her and they sparkled with mischief as she smiled up at him. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed frost form under her hand and slowly spread across the surface of the barrier. He took a step back and couldn't tear his gaze away as it soon covered the whole barrier and he was unable to see her small frame any longer.

He didn't know how long he just stood there staring in utter awe. He thought he played her, but she played him from the moment their eyes met and beat him at his own game. The god of mischief and lies outsmarted by a puny woman.

This must surely mark the beginning of his end.

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