Loki looked at Jenny, his new maid. He'd hired her a few days prior to his first guests arriving. She was a hard worker and to her credit did not flee her new job after what happened. She was a young sweet thing, having just turned 18 and graduated high school earlier that summer. Her blond hair and brown eyes spoke of desperation, however. Loki noticed it more since the Joseph incident.
"You know Jenny, I've decided to up your pay to $12 an hour and you're always welcome to eat anything in the fridge here too." Loki noticed spine bumps on her back. What he took for a skinny frame now screamed hunger and Loki wondered if it was intentional or if going without meals was involuntary.
"Thank you! Oh thank you so much!" Jenny said. Her gratitude was genuine. She put down the books she was dusting and hugged Loki. Loki could sense her arousal for him. He'd noticed it a lot lately. He had become the most eligible bachelor in town and now whenever he goes into town he feels the eyes of the ladies following him. He couldn't blame them. Who wouldn't want all this?
Loki radiated an awkward vibe and Jenny pulled back knowing her hopes were going to go unfulfilled. "You're welcome." He said, though he did smile politely at her. Loki and Jenny were in the library going through all the books and trinkets on the shelves. The house appraiser had advised that he go through them and have a book appraiser assess them for their value. Given how old the house was, there could be some real gems hidden in the library.
There were many geographical books with old outdated maps of Africa and the Americas. Loki knew some of these would be very valuable indeed. Others were encyclopedias. There were also some books regarding the business and breeding of slaves.
"Listen to this, It is important when buying slaves to inspect their skin closely for chronic diseases. These conditions are often masked by a mixture of animal fat and tar that is rubbed into the skin to make them look healthier. It is recommended when buying females for breeding purposes that they still be young but developed enough that the infant can pass through the birth canal, a minimum age of 15 is recommended."
"That's just wrong." Jenny said.
"Yes it is which means it'll probably be the most valuable book in here." Loki was joking, but he suspected he was right. He next pulled out a medium sized red leather bound book with no title. Loki opened it and discovered page after page of hand written entries. It was a journal.
The Personal Accounts of Lord Leslie Maywood
June 6th 1860:
My new wife and I arrived in Tanzania well supplied, though exhausted from the months of travel on the sea. Three of the men died of disease during our voyage, though my darling and I hardly noticed as we kept to our chambers most of the time. I am told the game here is plentiful, though that could just as easily have been had on the other side of the continent. I came here to obtain something else, if it exists. I have brought three slaves with me to offer up as payment if necessary.
Loki became excited as he realized he'd found the diary of the original owner of the home. He knew that this book might contain the reason why the house was abandoned all those years ago and he hoped to find out the answer.
"Hey what do you think is inside this thing anyway?" Jenny asked as she picked up the glass orb from its cradle on the desk.
"I'm not entirely sure. Some of the things I recognize, the rest are a bit of a mystery." Loki said.
"So what is this thing? A paperweight?"
"No, paperweights have a flat bottom. It appears to be purely ornamental." Loki said. "The glass ball was cut open and then it was filled with all that stuff and then sealed up again. It might be a time capsule of some sort, or the items might have had personal significance to whoever made it." Loki surmised. Jenny stared into the orb. Her eyes transfixed upon the little bits of bone. Seconds ticked by and Loki noticed her distant glazed over expression.
"Jenny?"
"Jenny?"
"Jenny!"
"What?"
"What did you do? Zone out to the Twilight Zone?"
"Uh, maybe, nothing…look a squirrel!" Jenny pointed at a vacant spot in the corner, clearly embarrassed by her sudden odd behavior. Her face was flushed red. Loki reached over and took the orb out of her hand and placed it back in the cradle on the desk.
"This is not the droid we're looking for. Come on, we have to check the books on the top shelf." Loki and Jenny spent the rest of the afternoon inventorying the names of the books in the library, noting any dates and author names printed on the bindings or initial pages.
At the end of the day, Jenny went home and Loki sat at the great mahogany desk and surveyed his domain. The manliness of his surroundings coupled with the position of power the desk was in within the room made Loki feel like a king. The man that built this house had been the master of his universe.
Loki noticed the desk drawers and tried to open one, but it would not budge. He pulled out the heavy key ring then and tried the small key hanging from it. He'd wondered for a while now what this key belonged to and this might be the answer. The little key slipped into the key hole and twisted with ease. The top drawer opened, delivering a treasure trove of paperwork that was more than a hundred years old.
The scent of dust and parchment flooded Loki's nose and he sneezed several times in a row. He looked in amazement at old letters, accounting ledgers, and the original blueprints of the house. He noted that the hidden hallway upstairs was not in them. He then saw something that did not belong. He pulled out a piece of paper that looked modern and new. It was stamped with the seal of a notary and was on official city letterhead.
Mr. Odinson,
It is the finding of the city council that your petition has merit. Your efforts to improve a derelict property are commendable and to the benefit of the town of Maywood. To save the taxpayers from an expensive and drawn out legal quagmire, it has been decided to grant you ownership of the land and house in dispute. You are commanded to pay $10,563.56 in property taxes in exchange for the deed. You have 30 days to formally respond to this letter and make payment to the county tax collector.
Sincerely,
County Land Assessor
Loki looked up from the letter shocked. Thor was the previous owner. Dread curled in Loki's gut. The joke he told Mr. Gotz when he first bought the house entered his mind and Loki wondered how right he might be. Loki looked around the room again, this time with the knowledge that his grand estate was being haunted.
XxXxXxXxXx
"You're not an angel." Thor said to Loki.
"Far from it." Loki said.
"But you glow. You look like you came from heaven."
"I'm alive. You're not." Loki looked around his surroundings. They were in the middle of the pasture full of the purple flowers.
"I am alive." Thor said. He looked beautiful to Loki. Gone was the grime and sweat. He was washed, tanned, and rested. His large muscular arms looked thick as tree trunks and his lips looked kissably soft.
"Then where are you? Where did you go?"
"I'm here. I never left."
"What is this place?" Loki asked. Suddenly they were inside the house, except it was in that room; the lover's room. The unmade bed from the painting brought to life once again.
"It's our home."
"Our home?"
"Yes. I've been watching you. I like you."
"What happened to Ernest?" Loki asked. Their location changed quickly again and Loki saw they were in the desert.
"I deserve this." Thor's appearance changed as well. The sweat and grime returned along with the dead expression in his eyes.
"What happened to you?" Loki wanted an answer but instead heard shouting and music behind him. The beating of the drums called to him and he followed. He saw several African men in a circle, one of whom was kneeling before a cloth covered in various little items. He watched the shaman drop bits of bloody bone into the open glass orb. The crowd of men parted and Loki saw an albino human head laid out on the cloth as well. It was his mother. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him.
"Help him." Frigga's head said. A hand grabbed him hard on the shoulder and spun him round. A man, with blue eyes like Thor's, sneered in his face. It was the man from the family portrait in the library and the ballroom.
"He's mine." Hands wrapped around Loki's throat.
Loki awoke choking for breath. He took deep breaths for several seconds before stumbling to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. He splashed his face with water and looked up. Clearly visible were finger shaped bruises circling his neck.