SHADOW OF DEATH
Chapter 17: Friends
Two King's Guards walked before Jane and Loki. Their golden armor and gilded skirts shone in the long, brightly lit corridor. Two more King's Guards trailed behind them, elongated spears pointed towards the geometric shapes painted on the ceiling. On each side of them, the hallway was draped with paintings and symbols of former kings and queens. Ancient drums painted with elephants, crowns of brightly colored feathers and shells, long robes of animal skins, and life-sized ebony carvings of faces lined their steps on either side of the hall through which they walked.
"Are you out of your mind?" Jane hissed in whisper to Loki. "You are released from prison and then you decide to insult the people who let you out?"
Loki visibly stiffened but maintained his brisk walk. He gave her a half-smile as he spoke, "Lady Jane, are you concerned about my well-being? You wish me to avoid further imprisonment? I am truly touched."
"NO! That's not what I meant! Ugh!" Jane said, momentarily flushed with embarrassment.
"I see, so what is your concern, then?"
"I just don't understand. What was all that about in there? You were a jerk!"
"Tell me, Lady Jane, how do you expect me to behave? Have I given you reason to have higher expectations of my general manner and concern for humanity?"
Jane gave a huff under her breath and fell silent. Loki gave a half-smile in what he saw as a victory on his side.
"Why are you like this? You are nothing like your brother. Thor was so…"
Loki hurried to interrupt her. "I beg you to spare me any comparison to Asgard's Golden Prince. I assure you, I will never appear favorable when the weight of his mighty shadow falls upon my unworthy countenance."
She did not bother asking him any further questions but retreated to her own room. Loki would have preferred his own isolation, but the Flerkin insisted on accompanying him as closely as a shadow wherever he went. Loki rather wondered if the beast sought to irritate him on purpose. He rather suspected it might.
After taking his evening meal in his chambers, Loki decided to take a walk through the gardens. As he walked, Loki saw a figure trailing behind him. He sighed and began to wish he had stayed inside. He suddenly found himself overly tired. The knowledge that the place he now inhabited, however temporarily, proved exceedingly more powerful than he originally anticipated (and could easily restrain him for an indefinite period of time) had unsettled him more deeply than he wished any other to know.
He stopped when he came upon a secluded balcony garden. The warm, humid night air hummed with the songs of frogs and geckos and mosquitoes. Only a few small lamps cast any light into the dark, wide balcony. He sat on a stone bench and prepared himself for another onslaught of accusations, questions, and tears. Jane came up to him and sat beside him. She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and tapped her foot against the cobbled pathway beneath.
"Look, I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry about your brother. And I don't mean to be a jerk to you. I haven't been all that gracious to you since, well, since we really met."
Loki, taken aback slightly, glanced up at her then he gave her a cold half-smile.
"You have no talent in deception, milady. Speak what is on your mind, for I already read it plainly upon your face."
She dropped her eyes from his in discomfort and fiddled with the zipper of her dress pocket. "I'm just trying to understand you," she said. "And I just don't."
"You must learn, Lady Jane, that not all your questions have answers that you can ferret out. Some things not even your great curiosity can conquer."
"I don't do well with mysteries," she admitted. "Still, there's some things I need to know."
"What do you wish to be clarified? I owe you no answers nor do I promise truths."
"At the funeral-you pretended to be Thor. Why?"
"Need I remind you that three million souls were given in exchange for mine-do you think I wished for a repeat performance?"
"Then why come at all?"
"I sought to discover how to avenge the death of my brother. I desired the names of his foes so I could vanquish them myself. My quest proved a failure at the time. I should have avoided the services entirely and thus spared us each this current situation."
"Why are you pretending like you care about your brother or how many people were killed? You tried to kill Thor. And you came to conquer Earth. In cold blood, you came…," she said, her voice rising in her quickly stifled anger as she saw Loki's posture stiffen.
"My apologies, Lady Jane, that you must suffer the indignity of my presence instead of his. If we are both diligent, mayhaps, we can ensure our alliance remains as short-lived as possible, for both our benefit…and for the benefit of all Midgard. I am an unwilling ruler and your realm is naught but unwilling subjects."
"I don't understand. If you are an unwilling ruler, then why bother? Why try to conquer us?"
"I have spent over half a year trapped on Midgard. I never sought to come to this wretched land and I would much prefer to leave-hence the import of your efforts and why I bothered to grovel for your assistance in the first place. Unfortunately for both of us, our fates, for the time, are intertwined and until we extricate them, I suggest we both make an effort to be cordial."
Loki rose and gave her a slight bow before retreating. He did not wish to hear her response, nor did she rise to make him hear. He left her sitting on the bench on the balcony and returned to the solitude of his chambers.
Loki woke to find the Flerkin curled tightly against his chest, fast asleep. Without his magic to guard him or protect him, he had no warning or possible defense against the beast. It could have taken off his limbs while he slept-and what defense could he offer? He had been stripped of all his weapons before he woke in his prison cell. He had managed to take a sharp knife from the dining hall during meal time, but that was hardly a precision instrument meant for self-defense. Still, he had placed it carefully under his pillow before falling asleep the night before.
His one comfort-surely Thanos would have no easier time penetrating the Wakandan defenses than he. If Thanos came to claim him, he would have warning.
He rolled off the plush bed appreciating that at least his chambers were now fitting of his rank. Unlike his stolen, broken room at the Triskelion where he slept with stolen blankets on a rough cot. Goose, thankfully, stayed soundly asleep. Loki searched through some drawers to find Midgardian apparel appropriate for his intended tasks. He would have to pull on each article of clothing himself-a tedium he had not been forced to endure in a millennia. Without his magic, he felt bound not only physically, but in every other way.
He began to lace up his tall leather boots (which now were marred with holes thanks to the inexorable force of the Flerkin's teeth and claws). He nearly finished when he heard a soft thud and purring filled the room. Goose, now wide awake, sidled up beside him and nuzzled against his legs.
"Insufferable creature," Loki said through gritted teeth. "I would kill you myself, if I had the means."
The Flerkin looked at him sideways through only one eye and then rolled onto its back to show the soft, fluffy white underside of its belly. It flicked its tail and looked at him expectantly.
"No," Loki said. "I will not touch you. Be gone."
The Flerkin gave a wide yawn that displayed all its sharp, pointed teeth. Then flicked its tail against him again.
"Goose, I command you to leave me be," Loki said. He stood and filled his satchel with his required amenities for the day. It was Sunday (or it soon would be in New York) after all, and today he would be able to do as he wished. And he certainly did not wish to spend his day in Wakanda.
The moment Loki crossed the shield separating Wakanda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he gave a sigh of relief. His magic flooded back through him and he felt its strength coursing through his veins, singing through his senses. He felt whole again, no longer so exposed and vulnerable, dependent on the good-nature of others (which experience had long since taught him was as reliable as a venomous serpent).
He threw a large illusion of a dragon into the sky simply to stretch his skills and smiled as the faux reptile soared for a moment above the treetops of the dense equatorial forest and then vanished into a cloud of green mist. He allowed the gentle tenterhooks of magic to exude from his body and through the chasms of space until he found the crevice he sought. Then, in the blink of an eye, he transported himself from the humid heat of the tropical pre-dawn forests and into the bitter cold of the Washington D.C. January night.
Loki nearly hit his head on a brick wall when the figure of Goose materialized from beneath his cape.
"Stowaway. How dare you continue to impede on my presence, you deplorable worm of a creature," he hissed. Goose gave a slight "meow" and followed after him, paying no heed to his irritation. "Do you truly insist on shadowing my every movement? Do not you have some rodent to hunt or an ancient relic to ingest?"
Loki huffed as he realized he was speaking to the Flerkin as if a cognizant creature. He turned his back and determined to ignore the beast.
Loki performed a perfunctory sweep of SHIELD's databases, newsreels, and logs to see what he had missed during his absence in Wakanda. He had little doubt that Wakanda's technological capacity could broker him the same information from within Birnin Zana, but he refused to grovel for assistance as if he were a child. To his simultaneous surprise and dismay, he found little of interest. It was as if he was entirely redundant to the internal workings of Midgard. All potential trouble seemed to evaporate each day during his absence, and he could not discover the cause. He planned to contact his little army as soon as possible to gain their reports.
Within his room, he found his Canna lilies blooming brilliantly. If he were to find it beneficial to spend more time in Birnin Zana than Washington, D.C., he would need to relocate his flowerpot, but he remained undetermined. Jane had her power source and much more qualified assistants. Their site was protected with the best Midgard could offer. His presence was not necessary on a daily basis.
Still, his stolen room felt stale and stagnant, more of a prison cell than a home and he did not relish the idea of spending more nights than he must within those four walls.
He checked the time on his cell phone again. He did not think it would be too early now. He pulled on a Midgardian scarf and winter jacket over his Midgardian suit. He carefully placed the two cups of hot coffee in a container and flashed himself away from the streets of D.C. and into the snowy stillness of the New York streets. Now covered in half a foot of cold, fresh snow, an eerie silence blanketed the remains of the wreckage. Few people bothered to lay tracks in the fresh snow. The snowplow had not plowed the streets this far into ground zero. The streets that had once housed millions now could barely provide shelter to the few vagrants that wandered its streets and used pieces of old building to light fires to warm themselves.
Loki hoped it would not be too cold or too early. He could not tarry much longer here, but it was Sunday, after all, and he would do as he pleased today. He broke into a genuine grin when he neared the squeaky gate with its peeling paint. Across the other side, from within the greenhouse, he could see a figure in a bright purple jacket bustling between plants. He swung open the gate and tried his hardest to keep his footprints within hers, though his larger feet could not quite fit within the much smaller ones he followed. He knocked on the door and heard her give a short exclamation of surprise and she swung around towards him.
Loki pushed the door open, though it stuck on the icy ground and crunched horribly as he pushed. The temperature rose significantly once inside and he quickly shut the door to maintain the heat. He suddenly found himself engulfed in a purple armed hug.
"Lucas! My! You are an early bird today, aren't you? And what's this? Have you brought me a worm?"
He gave her a confused expression. "No, I brought you coffee. I did not think people in this polity chose to ingest worms."
She broke into a peel of uncharacteristically girlish giggles and took the steaming cup from his hand. "It's an expression. 'The early bird gets the worm.' Oh, this is still hot! However did you manage it? The closest coffee shop isn't within five miles of here!"
"Aw, that would be where the worms assisted me," he said with a wicked smirk and she smacked him on the shoulder.
"Tut, tut. Come in here and have a look around. This place is pure magic, I'll tell you! And those roses you gave me, I've never seen their equal! Whereever did you find them?" she said. She pulled him over to the two white wicker chairs with soft pillows (which he'd made sure to include with the green house) and bade him to sit. Her hazel eyes sparkled with her enthusiasm as she gestured around her little floral kingdom.
"They came from my mother's garden," he said. "I do not think it is an exaggeration to say she grows the finest roses in the universe."
"I would not argue that. These are truly the most beautiful I have ever seen," she said. "Oh, before I forget, I was hoping you'd come today because I have a gift for you!"
"Another gift? I thought gift-giving was a tradition saved for what you called Christmas. Is there another holiday that I do not know of?"
She laughed and pulled out a package wrapped in some kind of light, silver metal. "No! This isn't for any occasion at all. You remember on Christmas you told José how much you love churros? Well, him being the dearie he is, he got it into his sharp little brain that he would cook you some."
"He cooked me churros?" Loki said with such an expression of child-like innocence that Mrs. Johnson nearly paused to pinch his cheeks. Instead she batted him on the shoulder and chided him as if he were a small boy.
"Hush, you! Will you let me tell my story or will you keep interrupting me?"
"Apologies, milady," he said with a slight bow.
"Oh! Enough with the chivalry or you will make me blush like a school girl! As I was saying, José and I Googled how to make churros and then we got all the supplies and we stayed up half the night. Well, after we tried four different recipes and found them each to be failures, we finally had to admit defeat.
"Well, then we decided to make you cookies instead. That almost went better-until I mixed up the powdered sugar with the baking powder, and, let me tell you, they were atrocious! So, last night, we went to this little market near José's school that he told me about. He said they had, and I quote, 'the best churros ever!' and so we got a couple dozen. I have to admit, they really are delightful. So, I know they are not as grand as fresh, warm ones, but the thought is there."
She finally handed him the package and he peeked a looked beneath the layers of metal. He inhaled deeply and couldn't help but grin as the scent of cinnamon hit him.
"Please tell José that I am deeply honored and will treasure these greatly-though I cannot promise you they will last the hour."
"Oh to be young again and have a metabolism like that again!" she said and laughed. "Now, tell me, you were not here last week. How is everything? How's the new job working out? Is it what you expected?"
"No, Mrs. Johnson, I can honestly say it has been nothing like I expected," he said with a sigh.
"What is troubling you? You sounded so hopeful on Christmas."
"Mrs. Johnson, with as much, what did you call it? Ah-egg nog. With as much egg nog as you supplied me with and after such a glorious feast, I would have found even the end of the world a cheery proposition."
"That's a fair point," she said with a smile that hinted at their shared inside joke. "Everything does look more hopeful after a few too many glasses of Christmas egg nog."
"As I was saying, my new job location is as favorable to my research projects as I told you before, however, I find my colleagues to be a bit trying," he said. He furrowed his dark eyebrows in consideration before he spoke again. "They knew my brother and are acquainted with my extended family. It's led to more, I suppose I would call it, conversations than I have had in many months."
"I see," she said. "You don't find it comforting to speak of them?"
Loki gave her a look which told her he found it otherwise. "One colleague was a former love interest of my brother. She had not been informed of his death. I am afraid I proved the bearer of bad tidings and she has yet to forgive me for not being the one to take his place in the halls of our ancestors."
Mrs. Johnson whistled. "So it sounds complicated and dramatic."
"Those words are an adequate description of this past week."
"I hope it gets better for you."
He gave her a nod and took one of the cold churros from the plate. It gave a crunch as he bit into it and he let a small amount of magic sift through it to warm it slightly.
"I have more news for you," Mrs. Johnson said. She flashed her bright smile and they both could tell she was trying to change the subject to draw him out of his glowering mood. "You remember how on Christmas, I told you José managed to get ahold of some of his family? Well, the next day, he got a call from some of his cousins who live in Texas. Their parents died in The Fall during the attack on Dallas. He hadn't known they survived. Well, they are living in one of those government facilities and the rest of the family is stretched too thin to be able to manage more children. So, we started poking around and making phone calls. If all goes well, it's possible our little family will grow by two more."
"You have my congratulations," Loki said, forcing himself to reengage and express the necessary amount of enthusiasm at her words.
"I don't know how long it will take. These offices are so overloaded with orphans and so desperate for good personnel and finances that it can take months or possibly even years. We are hoping for the best though," she said.
Loki grinned and took another churro. Moving things along through a sluggish Midgardian government system was one thing he could do well and easily.
Loki returned to his stolen room without a single remaining churro later that afternoon. He would need to return to Wakanda soon, but he wished to put it off as long as he could. He felt the strength and power of his magic surround and envelope him and he dreaded to find his hands bound. He sat on his bed and summoned Mjolnir into his presence again. He would never admit it out loud, but he had sorely missed his nightly ritual. The silver hammer gleamed in the overhead light and he drew his finger over the finely carved runes covering its beveled edges.
"Well, brother, I see you managed to keep some secrets even from me. Bravo. I am impressed. Did you simply forget to speak of your time in Shenga or did you intentionally hide more of your dubious exploits from me?"
Loki paused to collect his thoughts, as if speaking to Thor in the flesh. He scoffed inwardly as he realized he never would have dared to speak so openly to his brother if in person.
"Tell me, did you even know the name of the maid you courted that time or check into the well-being of your offspring once you left? Did you even feel the weight of the All-Father's banishment or mourn their loss? Or, once again, was I to be the lone recipient of the trials and hardships of your punishments?
"You great oaf. You spent three days in a mortal frame and thought you understood mortality. You spent three days in Midgard and claimed you would be its protector. You came, you enjoyed your dalliances, you enjoyed their worship and adoration, but you could never understand it."
Loki closed his eyes to fight against the sudden flood of memories that threatened his conscious mind again. He kindled his anger as a shield against the sadness.
"Thor, the mighty ally of Midgard, graciously bestowing your protection on the child realm!" he said with a scoff. "What did you know of the lives of mortals-their lives which vanish? How dare you pretend to care!" Loki shouted, no longer sure if he spoke of his brother or himself. He threw a knife at the hammer and began muttering curses in Elvish when the knife bounced off onto the dresser. He continued to shout until he fell asleep, still deep in one-sided conversation with his brother.
He woke a few hours later as a furry creature descended upon his face with its rough tongue. He spluttered in indignation and sat upright, pushing Goose off him and wiping his face with his shirt. He looked around him in surprise to see the sun had long since fled and night had fallen. He should have left hours earlier.
He jumped from the bed and quickly changed. Then he gathered more of his belongings into a suitcase and placed it in his invisible storage. He turned to grab Mjolnir and froze.
The hammer was gone.